Lind Pit

Lind Pit is an 82 acre abandoned mine pit located 3 miles north of Grand Rapids. Historical records indicate the pit began filling with water in the 1970's, and water depth in the pit currently exceeds 280 feet. Lind pit lies near several other mine pit lakes, including Canisteo Mine Pit. Canisteo Pit also has long history of rising water levels. Water levels in Canisteo could eventually go high enough to reach the rim of the pit and form a natural outlet. Several options for where to divert the overflow water are being considered. An additional complication is that Canisteo Pit contains a population of rainbow smelt, an exotic species. One proposal is to divert the water from Canisteo to the Prairie River via several mine pits, including Lind Pit. This assessment was conducted to determine what fish species existed in Lind Pit and if rainbow smelt were already present. Three standard experimental gill nets, one small mesh (smelt) gill net and two standard lake survey trap nets were set overnight. No rainbow smelt were captured. Net catches for the other species were generally low and included black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and white sucker. White sucker was the most common species in the gill nets, with a catch rate of 4.3/net. Smallmouth bass was the most common predator species, with a catch rate of 1.0/gill net. Captured smallmouth bass ranged from 13.4 to 16.6 inches. The other previous fish assessment on Lind Pit (1990) only captured black crappie and common shiners.

BLCS AND CSH WERE THE ONLY SPECIES CAPTURED DURING THE SURVEY. THREE YEAR CLASSES WERE REPRESENTED IN THE BLC SAMPLED. AGES I AND II MADE UP 95% OF THE SAMPLE WITH AGE III FISH THE REMAINING 5 PERCENT. BLCS APPEAR TO BE NATURALLY REPRODUCING IN THIS PIT. GROWTH RATES OF THE BLCS SAMPLED WERE NEAR THE AVERAGE FOR THIS SPECIES. SEVERAL SCHOOLS OF YOY SHINERS WERE OBSERVED-SUGGESTING NATURAL REPRODUCTION IS OCCURING IN THE SHINER POPULATION.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie and Pumpkinseed in Lind Pit. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Lind Pit. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Lind Pit has a maximum depth of 284 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Lind Pit is from 2010. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

No invasive species are on record for Lind Pit in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.